Jess Lavin - Canada Summer Jobs

Hear how Jess Lavin found a fulfilling job through the Canada Summer Jobs initiative.

Transcript: 

This production is brought to you by Canada's Economic Action Plan.

My name is Jesse Lavin and I'm from Toronto, Ontario. I'm a student at York University and I work as a part time one-to-one support worker.

I took the year after high school to study abroad in Israel and I was returning to Toronto for the summer, looking for a summer job, when I found CampAim. I came across campAim in an ad for Canada Summer Jobs and I applied. Two weeks later, I was hired.

CampAim is a special needs camp designed for children with both cognitive and physical handicaps. I was a personal support worker, one-to-one, with two children. The first was a boy with Angelman syndrome, and the second, a girl, without a diagnosis. Basically our goal in camp is to show the children that they can achieve anything if they set their mind to it. And our goal as staff members is to show them that we know that they can do anything when they set their mind to it.

When I first applied at CampAim, I had no experience working with special needs children, and when I started I was completely taken aback. It was the most incredible experience ever. It's really about having the patience and love, and you end up just caring so much for the children that you'd do anything to help them succeed. And they want to succeed.

It helps you to develop as a person as well because you just develop so much patience and skill that can be used anywhere, with any people. The kids know they can do anything if they set their mind to it, and our job is to root for them. It's the most incredible experience. I've seen seven year old kids walk for the first time, seen children attain heights that they and their parents never imagine they could achieve.

I would definitely recommend the program to other students because you do not only learn about the world but a lot about yourself as a person, what your strengths and your weaknesses are, and your ability to make a difference in someone's life.

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